Previously on t h e l i f e l e s s l e e c h:
"I...can't move. Something...attacked me. Can you come get me?"
"Renée...call for help. I'm on my way over; where are you?"
"An alley near the city limits. I think someone else was here...earlier. I was passing by, and then I heard a scream from here. I checked it out, and next thing I know, something leaped at me and I was out in a second. I woke up five minutes later I think, and...I'm bruised everywhere...."
xxx
"It won't be too long before the Heartless becomes a real threat to your people."
"It already has. Renée's hurt, isn't she?"
"Well in your level of words, how much does 'hurt' hurt?"
xxx
"Then what did attack you?"
"It was...similar to that thing that appeared...earlier. It was...much larger though...I didn't know what...it was, or what I could do...I was too scared to run."
xxx
"Who's they?"
"Those professors and scientists that live not too far from this town. I think they work for this one guy named Ansem? But anyhow, he and his apprentices are professors that study most inhumane and superhuman topics, if you know what I mean- and they heard about the sudden attacks that we've been getting lately. It was in one of the recent articles my mom was reading."
"They're not nerds - actually I heard they're pretty attractive, but they're the nation's top rated scientists and the like. They could help us find the hidden mystery about this...creature."
xxx
"You have a scent of such innocence and weakness, and a newborn nobody. But out of all of the history that I've learned about nobodies, you're the most questionable newborn I have seen."
"Is that bad?"
"Well I'm not saying its good, but its not that it's bad either. See, that's what's so intriguing about you."
Era slowly walked down the stairs from the annoying call from her parents in the living room. When she saw their faces at first, she noticed that they didn't seem as bright and giddy as they usually were whenever she returned home from work or from other friend's houses; they didn't look anything related to satisfaction at all, which made her extra curious. When the two noticed that she walked in, they attempted to smile -and they did-, but it didn't look like it meant anything. She's only seen that kind of fake smile before and the pre-gloom when they didn't notice that she was around; it was the day they told her that they had to move to this town; she wasn't ready to hear what they had to say then, so she obviously wouldn't be ready for what she was going to here, she would have rather stayed in her room. The depression suddenly turned to tension as her mother used her hand to gesture her to sit down between the two. Era felt a lump in her throat as she walked forward at a regular pace, stepping easily yet wanting to go either slowly or hasty, but there was no real option than to walk at an equal speed. Once she reached the couch, she was still stiff, even when she sat down. Her father finally broke the silence when he cleared his throat.
"We were just informed your friend went to the hospital." He said uneasily. "That...she was attacked by something."
Era only nodded. She hung her head low as not even Rexa wanted to know what was going to happen next while a sudden light weight burden rested around her neck.
"And...well, Era. The doctor told us that since you were very close to Renée, they felt that they should contact us about this as well. So, Era-" Everything at that moment had become a sudden blur in Era's ears. Whatever her mom and dad were about to tell her, she didn't want to hear it. She even knew internally; since she didn't force herself not to hear anything unclearly, the emotion was really getting the better of her, and it would most likely not be long before it shows. The little voice suddenly became clear again.
"-It was actually to everyone's shock that about two hours after Renée arrived at the hospital, -" The voice continued. No...Era told herself. No...I refuse to hear...what she's going to say. Her grief must have shown already, since her mother gave her that there's-something-wrong-with-you look.
"Era? Are you listening?" Mom asked. A hand riffled through her hair in attempt to comfort her, but failed unknowingly. The other darker voice chimed in.
"She might have an idea about what we're about to tell her."
Era managed to speak at this point. "I really...hope you won't say what I think you'll say."
"Kurk, lets just tell her so that we can get this over with." Oh no...
Kurk sighed and lifted his hand off of the frightened blonde's back. "Renée went into a coma, Era. I'm afraid we won't be hearing from her for a while."
Oh my God...both Era and Rexa thought at the same time. Thankfully, her parents didn't say that she was dead, but a coma still was something bad enough to bring her grief; and how long would it last?
"Are you alright, Era?" Mindy, her mother, asked with a concerned tone. Era seemed to have gotten up from the couch without realizing it, because feeling sick was the last thing on her mind. Darting in the bathroom and slamming the door behind her, she leaned over the toilet as most of her acid came pouring out of her mouth. Gagging a little, Era felt tears roll down her eyes. Renée was another person she was going to tell about her discovery once she was out of the hospital, but how long would that be? Her body heaved a bit, but nothing came out, leaving Era a little time alone in the bathroom to think, but her moment was interrupted by soft knocks on the door.
"Era? Era, I could hear you gagging. Are you alright?!" Kurk said behind the door. For once, Era was willing to speak out loud.
"No...I'm not." She replied. Her voice was scratchy and her throat stung a bit from the small trails of vomit still in her mouth.
"Do you need a doctor?!"
"No." Those were, to Era's decision, her last words until she decided to come out of the bathroom. She wondered if the others had heard the news about Renée as well. She wanted to tell them how she felt, but not in the condition she was in right now. Wiping off her mouth with some toilet paper, she flushed the toilet and cleaned out her mouth with water and her oral rinse. She walked out of the bathroom a few seconds later to be hit by cool air, only to realize that she had been sweating as well, and decided that she had probably let her emotions get the best of her. She didn't see her parents around so she guessed they were either outside or upstairs. The last question that she was asked did remind her of something though. There was one person she needed to see -but it wasn't a doctor. It was Ansem, and Natasha would have to assist her.
Back in her room, Era called Natasha on her phone guessing that she was done with her errands - she hoped. It was only three rings before the other line picked up.
"Hello?"
"Natasha...I have dirt."
"Era? You don't sound so good. Something happen?"
"Nothing special, I just got neglected by my own stomach acid." Era replied, her throat still a little croaky. She cleared it several times so that she could speak more clearly. "But...did the hospital call you today?"
"No...why?"
Oh shit...Era thought. That made it seem harder to tell Natasha what her parents told her, but she wasn't looking for another emotional situation, so she got over it.
"Natasha...Renée's in a coma."
"Oh my fucking God, are you kidding me?!"
"No...I'm not. That's what I was puking about. My parents were taking their time to finally tell me when the hospital notified them."
"Oh, no. Era! I'm so sorry that happened! Will she be okay?!"
"I don't know. I don't know anything right now accept that I need your help with something."
"Well, what is it?"
"Take me to where Ansem is. We're going with your plan."
"What? Right now!?"
"No. Not right now. How about tomorrow around this time? I've seen and heard a little too much today to do anything else except notify everyone about what happened to Renée."
"Alright then. Do you need to speak to anyone right now? I was still a little busy when you called."
"Yes, I do. I'll talk to you later, Natasha."
"Okay, love. Talk to you soon!"
Era hung up. She was going to call Lucas next, but she didn't feel like it at the moment; that and her heart felt a little faint. She just wanted to rest for a while and sleep through the stress without any interruption, and soon got what she asked for.
Era appeared to be dreaming since what she saw was out of the ordinary. She was lying in the middle of the street in an unknown city in the middle of the night. The sky was pitch black but many of the buildings had their lights on, seeming to make finding her way a little easier; but when she looked up at the sky for a little longer, she noticed something that you wouldn't see everyday. Little pink lights had fallen from the sky, soon vanishing once they've sunk to a certain point in the air, and when Era looked more closely at them, they looked more like hearts; it was raining little pink hearts. Did this dream have a meaning? She didn't know, but it sure did raise some questions. Era was staring at the sky for a distant time before she realized that she was in the midst of something unusual happening, and figured she'd have to lurk around the area before she began to freak. It was ironic that this place was making her a little perplexed but at the same a little tranquil, she wondered if it was just her hormones being uncanny. Right before Era walked into another slightly vivid area, an atypical sound triggered in a continuous beat; it made Era's heart race a little and halt in her place, she wasn't so sure if it were just an irregular dream or an isolated nightmare.
It only took a few seconds to realize that the sound was being heard within walking distance, and Era didn't know if she should wait to see what's coming closer or run since she seemed frozen. There it is! She thought as she noticed a white shoe or footstep out from the edge of one of the buildings. The whole figure shown itself in only a moment once Era caught it, and it was nothing like anything she's ever seen, and she didn't even know how to portray it. What is that!?
The thing's very slim and flexible body had walked over to a part of the alley as if it were stretching its limbs to reach farther. It had no eyes or fingers or an accurate frame, it didn't even look like it had a personality. But what was it? It looked over to where Era stood, as if it knew where she was the moment she caught its spot, and she slightly made a grimace when she saw its face. There was an unusual symbol on its head, and Era had no idea what it meant, nor did she know what the thing was going to do next.
An unknown whistling sound had sounded from behind Era, and she turned to see that some sort of portal had developed behind her; a void she could escape through so that she didn't have to figure out what the unknown creature was scheming. Not hesitating instantly, she walked backwards at first towards the portal, and then turned around and dashed towards it. She heard the unusual noise again that the thing made on its way to the area it was in, but it sounded a little more twisted than before, and she didn't want to turn around to see if anything happened. She just kept running, sprinting towards the shadow hole, and the moment she reached her hand into it was the same moment that a thin gray blade-like hand slashed across part of her neck at chin. She cried out a little as the rest of her vanished through the void, feeling a little damage the thing made, but it was gone now; as well as the city that she was previously in. What just happened? It was all a black abyss at first that the blonde stood alone in, but then a blue flash revealed a new scenery in the nick of time. Now she was standing on the shore of the town beach, which seemed out of nowhere. Stroking her cheek, Era could feel a wet streak across her cheek and onto her finger. Checking out her fingers, there was a thick line of blood and a little bit of bodily fluids. That slash felt sharper than anything she's ever felt before; sharper than a nice, quicker than a blink. Era looked around and so far didn't see anything out of the ordinary - yet. Finally deciding to walk, she took a couple of steps painstakingly away from the shore as she covered her cheek with a small cloth in her pocket - which was in an instant, half wet.
The town seemed a little shady at the moment, and Era noticed that someone stood afar, but didn't know who it was because he had his or her back turned. Whoever it was, it looked like he/she was cloaked with a black coat with the hood over their head. Era realized that she hadn't stopped walking until she could actually see the person clearly. Her shoes clacked loudly against the gravel, making the stranger turn around, and the face was shadowed, making it hard to see whom it was. Rexa felt a sinking feeling inside of her and felt Era's heart skip a beat despite her deficient. Is that Xemnas?! She could have sworn that she heard a chortle through.
"Who are you!?" Era questioned loudly.
"My identity is of no magnitude." A man-like voice said. He raised a barbed finger towards her though. "It isn't just a misapprehension. I've come here to warn you, since you lack the knowledge about what's to come." Rexa didn't recognize the voice, so she knew then that it wasn't Xemnas or any of the other Organization members. She could tell that Era was ill at ease.
"What knowledge?" Era asked the hooded man. He brought back his vaguely bend hand back to his side and scoffed a little.
"The knowledge you'll need to know once you come face to face with...-" He paused a moment, which made Era even more confused, but he didn't stall for long. "Face to face with...the Heartless."
The word 'Heartless' echoed through Rexa's mind for a moment, and then she unexpectedly knew it. That thing that attacked Renée was what ridded of her heart. And in a dream was when her somebody learned about it. It was all weird that she was going to have to be taught about them in a dream. What Rexa also wondered was if that silver flexible thing that attacked Era earlier was one of them.
"A being that has lost its heart, nothing more but an unfilled shell. If you let your guard down, you will not enjoy the outcome. Do you want to wind up like Renée?"
"Renée? How do you know her?!" Era asked suspiciously. This is just a dream! It has to be; I never met this guy before! "I don't even know you!"
"You are half correct on that." The mystery man replied. "We've known each other for so long now. I'm traumatized you're not pleased to see me."
Era blinked. "What do you mean?"
Another cold chuckle. "In the afterlife, you'll find out for yourself." The man began to vanish, and in a few seconds along with the scenery.
"Hey, wait!" Era shouted. She ran up to the dark swirls, but was too late once she realized that he was gone. She was left alone again in the empty delusional town with no one to help her, despite that it was all just a dream; But the cloaked man said it was more than just a dream. It did take a little longer than usual to change the scene however; everything vanished into a began to fade into a complete blank. From the feeling that Era got when she was no longer in her town, she felt that there was nothing left for her to see. Nothing.